After effects of CAA in North East; Toll on political parties
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: January 10 2020 -

One gone, but not yet clear whether this is just the beginning or the end.

Perhaps judging the pulse of the people of Nagaland or perhaps because the MP in question here violated the decision of the party to oppose the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) before it became an Act, the Naga People’s Front has gone ahead and suspended Rajya Sabha MP from Nagaland, KG Kenye from the primary membership of the party.

The latest development from neighbouring Nagaland must have surely put Outer Lok Sabha MP of Manipur Lorho Pfoze in an uncomfortable position, for here is also an elected MP of the same party who voted in favour of the said Bill when it was tabled in the Lok Sabha.

So will Lorho Pfoze also follow the way of KG Kenye or will the NPF take a different yardstick to judge the same conduct, cause Mr Pfoze is from Manipur and he was elected by the voters and not nominated by the NPF to Parliament ?

Only time will tell, but as pointed out earlier here, his position cannot be comfortable by any stretch of the imagination.

Or will the NPF be ‘satisfied’ with the explanation furnished by the Lok Sabha MP ?

This is where one sees a case of a political party not exactly spelling out where it stands as far as the CAA is concerned.

If Mr Kenye had indeed violated the stand of the party in voting for the CAB, then where was the need to call for an explanation ?

And likewise if such is the case, what took the party so long to crack the whip ?

Politics certainly works in funny ways but doubtful if the latest move from the NPF would have gone down well with the people of Nagaland.

Moreover would the voters of Outer Parliamentary Constituency in Manipur feel the same way if a similar course of action is taken against Mr Pfoze ?

All internal affairs of the party and while this should not have any impact on Manipur, it is nonetheless interesting to see that the fallout of CAA has already demonstrated how it can impact on the political parties which have its roots in the North East region.

A prominent example that comes to mind is Conrad Sangma, the president of the NPP, who morphed from the rallying point against the then CAB to one whose party backed the Bill when it was tabled in the Lok Sabha.

The AGP, which came to prominence in Assam and the North East from the Assam movement is another example with the latest case being former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta barred from the party’s office for his anti-CAA stand.

With the Inner Line Permit System being extended to Manipur, everything has gone quiet here, in so far as the CAA is concerned but there was a time when Imphal was the epicentre of the protest against the then CAB.

This is about CAB in Manipur and while things have definitely cooled down, one may expect to see more stormy days ahead when the final pact between the NSCN (IM) and the Government of India is inked anytime in the near future and giving that sense of anxiety will obviously be the latest assertion of the NSCN (IM) that the Government has ‘officially recognised integration of all Naga areas.’

The coming days can surely be stormy and heady.